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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Sep 12, 2007 - 02:16pm PT
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Roof boxes definitely cut down the evening shuffle in any rig.
I don't like the truck camper or trailer concept because I work more than I travel and I don't have a place to put the thing when it's not being used. In fact, anything that sits on the side of my house is a drag. My garage is a shop and holds no vehicles. Plus, the factor of having to attach that thing and get packed on a Friday evening between 5:30pm when I get home from work and 7pm when I need to be on the road.
Anyway, I have a minivan. For one person, there's no shuffling of gear and I can easily cook inside. For 2, it works fine but I have to move stuff around to get a bed for 2. No cabinets, custom boxes, or whatever, so easy to transition vehicle for other uses. If I wanted more room and amenities, I would first look for a bigger van. Sprinters look kind of cool. Maybe when I've slid into my 60's or something and need that level of comfort. I started out by removing the passenger seat in a Corolla and putting a bed there. I could cook in there as well and rarely needed to shuffle gear around, basically because I had none. I climbed more, then, too.
JLP
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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Sep 12, 2007 - 02:23pm PT
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" cuddle kit " heh heh.....
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RRK
Trad climber
Talladega, Al
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Sep 12, 2007 - 03:00pm PT
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while everybody's got their thinkin' caps on has anyone seen any type bivy contraption that mounts to a truck receiver? What I have in mind is something like a ledge but supported by a 2" receiver mount. You could deploy it in a heartbeat and bag it just as fast - maybe self storing or something like that. You wouldn't have the climbing-in problem of the roof-mounts (though I have spent considerable time dreaming up a design for that too) and would make a great camp-lounger till bedtime. (Something on the order of the "ass-gasket" without the "ass"). Links anyone?
RRK
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s_mestdagh
Trad climber
Between Boulder & Crestone, CO
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Sep 12, 2007 - 03:08pm PT
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In my never ending quest for building the perfect low-cost expedition truck, I came across this interesting setup. It's a roof tent mounted on the truck bed. Store your junk underneath. Put your bikes on a rack over the cab. Nice low center of gravity for the off road stuff. Full report here
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lamadera
Trad climber
New Mexico
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Sep 12, 2007 - 03:30pm PT
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Yeah, that looks like it would work great in a 50 MPH wind.
Susan, taking the camper off and putting a shell on will get old very quick. Once or twice a year maybe, otherwise not a good plan.
We have no problem with storage, plenty of space. Storage under the cabover bed too. Rocketbox on top would add more, but we don't need one. We don't take bikes and other stuff though, just climbing gear. Some of the newer pop-ups are very well insulated, check out Outfitter and Hallmark.
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Sep 12, 2007 - 03:48pm PT
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Ekat - I talked to a guy in Boulder (neighbor of a friend) a while back who had a Sprinter camper setup that he'd put together himself. He bought the empty shell delivery van version then done the cabinetry, bed setup, wiring, etc, himself. Saved him a ton of money. He said he even had a solar array on the roof that charged his battery for him. He only had good things to say about the performance of the thing as well, from gas mileage to pickup (he had turbo I believe).
The problem you cite seems like just thrashing through who else gets to pay for the repairs on the motor, warranty confusion maybe caused by the after-market retrofit? I'll have to do some digging out there in virtual land and see if there are other people who've had issues with the engines.
I'm only about half serious about the Sprinter, but something of that same style would be exactly what the doctor ordered for me, the wife and the puppy in our dwindling years. :-)
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Sep 12, 2007 - 03:57pm PT
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Susan,
We never took the camper off the truck. I know some who do, and they have it pretty wired. Doesn't seem like too much of a hassle. The FourWheel versions don't have a mechanical crank...it's a lever system that seems pretty foolproof. Be careful with assuming that you can load up the roof. It makes it really hard to raise the camper if you have a big load on the top. Light stuff only.
Blinny's story about the diesel Sprinter is sad to hear. I wonder if that's an anomaly? Seem to be a lot of those things running around with FedEx and Comcast logos on them. Did they have a fuel problem with the diesel? Bad biodiesel or something? What was the final report? $70K eh? Must have been a super-deluxe model. I think the basic van costs around $30K and you could do your own conversion for a few hundred.
Mal
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susan peplow
climber
www.joshuatreevacationhomes.com
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 12, 2007 - 04:25pm PT
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Monkey, A few years ago your lovely wife and I were on a girls trip to Red Rocks. We ran into a couple from Canada who had a Sprinter. Sweet action for sure!
Mal, Sprinters range in price but the conversion package on ebay is $15-25K plus the damn van itself!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Sprinter-Van-Camper-Conversion-Package-Only_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ50070QQihZ018QQitemZ280150350839QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
This is kinda a cool unit - less than a conversion of a 4x4 sportsmobile and way better gas mileage too.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Winnebago-View-Mercedes-Sprinter-Diesel-17-19-MPG_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ50059QQihZ020QQitemZ300148532748QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
Crap! I'm hijacking my own damn thread!
Back to business.....POP UP TRUCK CAMPER! Yeah, that's what were really talking about.
I'm pretty sure we could rig up an easy way to take off my shell & put on the pop up.
The latest problem is, where to store the damn thing when it's not in use. As it is, we've got and I'll count for you...... VW Bus, Saturn Wagon, Frontier, nearly dead Honda, pseudo dead Datsun, trailer and a boat.
Then again, it would give the added Musspartment™ for visitors during peak season.
~Susan
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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Sep 12, 2007 - 07:02pm PT
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didn't Warren drive a jag?
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Sep 12, 2007 - 07:19pm PT
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Moof, unless you are more than two you don't need to pop the top to sleep (just to stand). In fact, with the top DOWN I used to get it tropical inside with the heater despite seventeen degrees outside.
And conversely with the lights out it appears that nobody's home.
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spectreman
climber
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Sep 12, 2007 - 07:47pm PT
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We have used this pop-up for hundreds of nights and really like it. Very similiar to the old wildernest it just opens on a different axis. Tons of room to stand up and get organized and the bed is very comfortable and roomy. It weighs 250# and doesn't really bog the truck down. I think we lost 1-2 mpg after putting it on. It functions as a normal campershell when closed up and you can put whatever you want in the back of the truck. I never take it off.
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TradIsGood
Happy and Healthy climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Sep 12, 2007 - 08:00pm PT
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If you aren't looking for head room, but just racking out without pulling everything out...
I saw a truck rigged with a frame that rested on the wheel wells and a couple of matching supports. Mattress/pads and bodies go on top, everything else underneath.
I guess you could have the frame open up, or mount "drawer slides" under for easy access. In fact with a slide and fold down legs, you might even have a table top.
Maybe way cheaper than what you are looking for...
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MisterE
Social climber
Across town from Easy Street
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Sep 12, 2007 - 08:50pm PT
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Susan,
what kind of pop-top does dreamy Chris have? I seem to recall him saying at Lemmon that he had insulated panels for his.
I thought that was a pretty sweet set-up, and the heater and stove seemed to work well. I wonder about storage...
Erik
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Sep 12, 2007 - 10:16pm PT
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You can't really see inside.
Does it have a "hamster" wheel.
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s_mestdagh
Trad climber
Between Boulder & Crestone, CO
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Sep 12, 2007 - 10:32pm PT
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Locker, how are you going to put an awning on that thing?
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Sep 12, 2007 - 10:37pm PT
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Hamster wheel?
In case you have to adjust yer hamster?
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susan peplow
climber
www.joshuatreevacationhomes.com
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 12, 2007 - 10:59pm PT
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Tradisgood, what you are describing is a cuddlekit or similar. That's what Mal runs with his rig now. They are nice, but you still have to load all that bs in/out of it.
Erik, this is a photo of Dreamy Chris's rig aka "the lurker" who doesn't seem to be lurking at all right now as I've called him twice about this very issue. Must be out saving our forestlands.
Nice rig, bad photo.
~Susan
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Sep 13, 2007 - 12:42am PT
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Note the Happi-jacks; those silver shock absorber things.
Hope they were installed properly.
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